


Ephemeral

by NinjaPlushie



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bad Decisions, Childhood Friends, Coffee Shops, Drama, Established Relationship, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Light-Hearted, M/M, Pick-Up Lines, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-07
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-05-03 11:21:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14567952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NinjaPlushie/pseuds/NinjaPlushie
Summary: Jungwoo loves his boyfriend, Doyoung, he can't picture life without him.... so why can't he keep his eyes off of Jaehyun?





	Ephemeral

**Chapter One**

 

The quiet chatter that occupied the room, the soft chairs that lined narrow tables, the ever-present smell of bitter coffee mixed in with the sweetness of freshly baked pastries, and the warmth that welcomed you into its arms as soon as you stepped inside from the harsh cold; it all made up the ideal atmosphere for Jungwoo and Doyoung’s weekly afternoon dates.

 

Granted, Jungwoo hadn’t really known the place existed until Doyoung had introduced it to him. It was a tiny shop, crammed in between two stores and consisting of the general red theme that most coffee shops had. It wasn’t anything special and that was most likely why it never captured his attention but, on that fateful day when Doyoung dragged him in there, hand firmly holding onto the younger, he finally grasped why it was the other’s favorite place. It soon became his favorite place, too. They spent hours there just talking, drinking coffee, sampling various sweets and thoroughly enjoying each other’s company. According to Doyoung, that had been their first date. Jungwoo didn’t know if it really counted as one since he hadn’t known it was a date himself but recognizing the fondness that washed over him whenever he told anyone about it made the boy keep that to himself.

 

Meeting there after class at least once a week became their thing. The couple would talk about how their week was going, how they wished the semester would end already, what exams they knew they’d fail and all the other grievances you’d expect from two university students. Maybe the most important topic was how much they missed each other. After getting everything else out of the way, Doyoung would smile, reach over to grip Jungwoo’s hand, and entwine their fingers together as he told the younger just how much he missed him. It never failed to make the boy smile in return as he uttered the same words to him with just as much affection laced throughout; the happiness he felt from just being in Doyoung’s presence, with all of his attention focused solely on him, was unmatchable.

 

Jungwoo took a sip of his hot cocoa just as a text lit up his phone that had been resting on the small table; he picked it up to see a text from Doyoung and, just as his spirits lifted, they dropped back down again.

 

_From: Dodo♡_

 

_Sorry babe I might be a little late today, my professor asked to see me after class. It just ended so Im gonna find out what she wants and Ill be there soon! Order my usual for me please <3 _

 

With a silent sigh, Jungwoo pulled out a notebook as he called one of the waitresses over to his table. He placed Doyoung’s order before turning back to his newly opened book and beginning a simple drawing to distract himself.

Jungwoo didn’t know how much time he wasted as his hand moved across the paper slowly, almost lazily, as something began to take shape on the page. He wasn’t really paying attention to it, and his phone buzzing almost made him draw a line through the sketch of his mug he hadn’t even known he was drawing. He looked down expecting a text from his boyfriend, only to see it was from a friend instead, Lucas.

 

_From: Xuxi_

 

_where r u? im bored af wanna hang out?_

 

“Here’s your order, sir.”

 

Jungwoo looked up and smiled at the waitress before thanking her as she put the drink and croissant down on the table. He sent a quick text back to Lucas, letting him know that he was busy, before setting everything up so that he could take a picture of what the waitress had just brought over. He frowned as he examined the picture and moved his seat over to capture a better shot. Once he was satisfied enough, he sent it to Doyoung with a small message of _“hurry before it gets cold! :(“_ . The reply was virtually instant, and the smile that was blossoming on Jungwoo’s face promptly fell as he read the text.

 

_From: Dodo♡_

 

_Im so sorry baby, Ill be here for a while. She wants to go over my results from that lab I did last week. You can head home and I promise Ill make this up to you! :(_

 

The sigh that escaped Jungwoo’s lips was impossible to hold back this time, and he couldn’t help but feel mildly disappointed. He had been looking forward to this since they hadn’t been able to see each other much that week, and he thought this could make up for all that time but now he just felt worse than he had all week. Looking down into his cup of hot chocolate, his stomach turned, and he decided it would probably be best to just leave, he wasn’t really in the mood stay much longer. He glanced over at the untouched order across the table from him and gave it a glare; he’d have to pay for that too, wouldn’t he?

 

“What did that poor cup ever do to you?”

 

The unexpected voice broke him out of his intense staring contest with the cup of coffee seated across from him, and he looked up to see someone standing right by his table, hands casually resting in his pockets as his gaze settled on Jungwoo. He regarded the male for a moment before realizing he had been the person the unknown individual was addressing. He straightened up from his slouch before deciding to respond, “Um, did you need something or do you randomly walk up to other people’s tables often?”

 

The resulting chuckle was unexpected, and the guy just shrugged his shoulders as he made no move to leave, “You seemed upset about something, I was just checking to see if you were alright. You know, getting in my good deed of the day and such.”

 

Jungwoo couldn’t hold back the look of confusion that decorated his face as he stared at the other, “Are you being serious right now?”

 

“Very,” The still unknown man then tilted his head at the table, “There are two cups. Someone stood you up, I’m guessing?”

 

The frown that tugged at the corners of Jungwoo’s lips didn’t go unnoticed and, before he could even think of a response, the other male had held his hand out. The seated boy’s eyes dropped from the watchful gaze holding his own down to the hand in front of him, hesitating only for a moment before he reached out to shake the offered hand.

 

There was a smile and a slight shift in the man’s tone when he spoke once more, “Do you mind if I join you? I’m sure you won’t be finishing all of this by yourself.” His grip on Jungwoo’s hand loosened as he eventually let go, waiting before his next move.

 

“I didn’t really plan on staying…” The uncertainty must have seeped into his voice because, the next thing he knew, the male nodded and took a seat in the unoccupied chair in front of him.

 

He made himself comfortable as he reached for the cup of coffee in front of him, “How about this, you stay so we can talk a little and I’ll pay for this extra cup of coffee and yours as well, sound good?” The raised eyebrow and patient hand gently gripping the clean white mug waited for his response.

 

Jungwoo looked down at his phone to check the time, noticing he hadn’t replied to Doyoung yet, before weighing his options. It wasn’t every day that someone offered to pay for him. “Sure, I have time to kill, I guess.” The words slipped out easily and he picked up his phone to send a quick reply to his boyfriend.

 

The sound of the mug hitting the table made Jungwoo look up to see the other had a deep grimace plastered on his face, the displeased male reaching over to take a piece of the croissant and quickly placed it into his mouth, “Are you okay?”

 

“I hate black coffee, god, that tastes awful.”

 

The light laughter that slipped past Jungwoo’s lips surprised even himself as he took in the genuine displeasure that still colored the other’s face. It was at that point that he realized something and once his small fit of laughter died down he asked an important question, “I just noticed we haven’t even exchanged names, so I’m Jungwoo, and you are?”

 

Throwing one last glance at the cup and beginning to collect all of the sugar and creamer over to his side of the table, the male looked up at him with a slight smile placed on his lips like it was natural for him, “Jaehyun. It’s nice to meet you, Jungwoo, but I have an important question.”

 

He blinked as he silently urged Jaehyun on andthe male wasted no time as he kept up his task of making his coffee as sweet as possible while still giving Jungwoo his attention, “Why would anyone want to drink black coffee?”

 

Jungwoo merely gave him a blank stare before responding, “Seriously? It’s not that bad- maybe…”

 

The two males fell into a natural discussion after that, many preferences coming to light as they defended their sides and it almost felt like they hadn’t met for the first time just that day. The smell of coffee brewing, the light chatter from other tables, the warmth of the packed cafe, and the taste of lukewarm hot cocoa and coffee fell into the background as the two wasted hours talking about both everything and nothing. Jaehyun, at one point, even ordered them both more drinks and he introduced Jungwoo to one of his favorite desserts, which happened to be a coffee cake and was probably one of the best things Jungwoo had ever tasted in his entire life. They both hadn’t noticed the time passing and, only when Jungwoo’s phone started buzzing with text after text, did he realize just how late it was. With night already having fallen and the late fall weather leaving a chill in the air, Jaehyun offered to walk the other home. After considering it for a moment, Jungwoo decided to decline. They departed with a friendly exchange before heading separate ways, both thinking that this was just a one time encounter, however enjoyable, and not worth much else thought; not knowing what forthcoming events they had set into motion.

 


End file.
